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Troubled Childhood, Triumphant Life: Healing From the Battle Scars of Youth

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Who among us can truly claim an idyllic home-life when growing up? Parents don't intentionally hurt their children, yet in many relationships, they do.

Children instinctively idealize and "protect" their parents, no matter how poor the parenting. However, children who grow up minimizing the significance of a troubled past may find themselves suffering a myriad of consciously or unconsciously recognizable symptoms carried into adulthood, including somatic physical ailments, self-blame and guilt, projected anger, the need to please others at all times, anxiety, over-scheduling and over-activity at the expense of one's own needs, self-loathing and other dysfunction. In short, what isn't resolved in the past may present problems in the present. Considering how much more energy, creativity, personal freedom and development can be liberated by resolving old issues from childhood, techniques for breaking a negative cycle created in childhood are essential.

In his latest book, Troubled Childhood, Triumphant Life, James Krehbiel, Ed.S., LPC, CCBT, brings forth 15 years of his vast professional experience to help bring closure and peace to relationships with parents that were less than nurturing, thereby loosening the grip of negative power over the affected adult child.

One of the resounding themes in this book of healing is, "It was never about you," -a statement of truth to empower the reader, formerly duped into believing they were somehow responsible for a parent's mistakes as well as to dispel twisted assumptions carried over from childhood. Krehbiel lends the reader a road map so we may objectively see the faults and imperfections of our parents in order to grieve our losses, forgive our parents and move forward while taking responsibility for the present. Different from dwelling in the past or dismissing the past, Troubled Childhood, Triumphant Life helps readers process painful pasts to transcend the unconscious harmful cycles that may have entrenched our lives in the present. We find that once we turn around and squarely face the past, it loses power over us.

Almost like having private therapy sessions, at the end of each section of Troubled Childhood, Triumphant Life, there is an opportunity for the reader to reflect on their own lives in order to answer the relevant questions asked. In addition, there are numerous examples of clients helped by the cognitive behavioral specialist and author, James Krehbiel, Ed. S., LPC, CCBT.

If you are one of the few who escaped youth relatively unscathed, Troubled Childhood, Triumphant Life would still be beneficial reading. The understanding of consequences of the past and behavioral origins can help improve marriages, partnerships or any relationships. It is an excellent parenting resource, especially for the chapter entitled, "The Art of Positive Parenting." Regardless where you've come from, James Krehbiel, Ed.S., LPC, CCBT will lead you to a life of more holistic integrity through Troubled Childhood, Triumphant Life.

In this book, Troubled Childhood Triumphant Life: Healing from the Battle Scars of Youth author James P. Krehbiel explores aspects of trauma that often happen in a child's life.

There are questions at the end of each chapter that help one explore the traumas that happen in troubled childhoods. In today's world, there are so many people that can put themselves into the pages of this book written with so much knowledge and empathy.

Having worked in a psychiatric substance abuse hospital for 25 years, I have seen so many of the cases Mr. Krehbiel describes. I feel that this would be an excellent teaching manual for hospitals and schools to provide a better understanding of problems that arise in these environments.

I must say that this book stirred up some questions for me and made me think about some things that I had dealt with and gave me some insight into some that I hadn't addressed. Thanks to Mr. Krehbiel, I now understand some of my own experiences.

I recommend this book to anyone who is searching for answers to a productive adulthood and to counselors who have a practice and need new ideas.

I look forward to any other writings this author publishes.

C. Gale Perkins (author)

Troubled Childhood, Triumphant Life: Healing from the Battle Scars of Youth Is an outstanding book covering the many significant problems that people have experienced during their troubled childhoods and how these problems have affected people throughout their life.

Krehbiel's work points out that many adults carry around significant baggage from troubled childhoods and self-defeating thinking and behavior into adulthood. This book explores how to deal with these serious deficiencies. The author makes a point of sharing ways in which many adults struggled through the perils of the past, through no fault of their own.

There is a great deal of information in this book that will peak your interest and help you to better understand the many problems that surface in childhood and remain with a person into adulthood unless rectified. I highly recommend this author's work.

Troubled Childhood, Triumphant Life is the perfect book for anyone suffering from an abusive or dysfunctional childhood. As someone who has read dozens of these sorts of books, I can say with out reservation that this is well written, and easy read, but filled with insights. Complex issues are explained. Troubled Childhood, Triumphant Life is not just a good book, it is practical. Each section ends with a READER TIPS section. After you have read it, and some issue comes up, you may recall there was something in this book that you'd like to retrieve. The READER TIPS will often be a perfect place to zero in on the needed information. I personally like a book that has sentences so filled with meaning and so pithy that they make good quotes. In Troubled Childhood, Triumphant Life I found dozens of singles sentences that I want to preserve. If you have a troubled childhood, or if you have someone in your life who suffers from a troubled childhood, this is a powerful tool. It gives insight to helpers, and it is like a guiding light to those wounded by their past. I recommend this book.

No childhood is escaped scot-free. "Troubled Childhood, Triumphant Life: Healing from the Battle Scars of Youth" discusses tough childhoods as James P. Krehbiel presents many stories of people succeeding and failing against their upbringing and all of its tumultuous nature. Drawing heavily on his decade and some change of experience, he presents why some people rise above their upbringing and some are crippled under it. "Troubled Childhood, Triumphant Life" is an enlightening and intriguing read, not to be missed.

A wonderful book about overcoming your childhood. Let's face it, sometimes you don't have the best time growing up, for whatever reason. This book isn't designed to magically make you better, but if you work at it, it can help you accept your past and live your life. It's obvious that the author has had a lot of experience in his dealings with patients, and shares relevant stories and examples to demonstrate what people can go through and show that you're not alone. These stories are highly relatable and add significantly to the sections where they are introduced.

The recurring theme in this book is honesty. The book strives to help you become honest with yourself about your past and to acknowledge it, not with regret, but with acceptance. It helps to interrupt your destructive thought patterns and recognize the common cycles of thought which can infect your perceptions. Throughout the text are "Reader tips," which make the book more interactive and give it that much more helpfulness in this.

In short, this book strives to help you overcome a troubled childhood and does it well. But it would also find usefulness as a guide to parenting, helping to break the pattern of abuse (Ie, repeating what was done to you to your own children). Highly recommended.

James P. Krehbiel's book should be handed to new parents as they leave the hospital with their baby in tow. It should be required reading in every college and university - before young men and women have the chance to harm their futures (and their children) by ignoring or repeatedly trying to fix the past. The author's compassionate approach is what so many long for, but seldom find. Troubled Childhood, Triumphant Life: Healing From the Battle Scars of Youth is beautifully written with intriguing, page-turning vignettes. Congratulations to the author for an eye-opening presentation.

Not only has this book helped me to better understand how I've gotten to where I am, it's helping me to get to where I'd like to be. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has struggled with confidence issues and can't seem to figure out why.

James Krehbiel's book about the shame and judgments from childhood that we carry into adulthood is a must-read. No one comes through childhood unscathed. Even the best of homes and families subtly communicate "shoulds" and "oughts" about roles and behavior that can interfere with an adult's ability to be autonomous, successful and happy. Krehbiel's book offers many ways to identify how and where you as an individual carry the shame and guilt of childhood into your adult life. He offers tips such as finding a good counselor, being a good parent, understanding mistrust, and identifying characteristics of shame in adults, just to name a few. He also gives ideas for using journaling to log your personal experiences and suggests meditation as a way to generate peace and calm.I especially appreciated his discussion of forgiveness: he says it isn't simply "cheap grace" based on spirituality, but instead must bring true relief, healing, and most important, closure. When you can put the injury behind you forgiveness has truly occurred. The book is filled with gems such as this one. Mental health professionals will want to encourage patients to purchase this valuable book and refer to it as they progress through therapy, coaching, and counseling.

Ellen M. Diana, Ph.D. Psychologist and Author of the Charge Up Your Life series of books:
CHARGE Up Your Life: Conquer the 6 Barriers to Love, Happiness and Success
CHARGE Up Your Life Workbook: Over 100 tools to explore and discover the real you
Charge Up Your Life Journal: Guided Daily Writings